Understand, I don’t want anything terrible to happen to anyone. That said, watching films like Cloverfield and Dawn of the Dead (2004), I know that a small, growing part of me, would enjoy a disaster of some sort. The basic idea is that catastrophic society crushing disaster also offers certain freedoms. Money doesn’t matter, schedules don’t matter, careers don’t matter, not when giant monsters and zombies are laying waste to our cities. We get to truly remember that all that really matters is survival and the people we love. I could live like that for awhile, it doesn’t seem like a bad life. Does it?

I guess that is part of the elation of watching movie likeloverfeild is it does remind us of the need to live before anything else. I was super pleasantly surprised how good cloverfeild was…loved the flashbacks due to taping over an older tape…and the final scene on Coney Island…great idea. Stories that take us away from the tyrnammy of our our ideas of HOW we’re supposed to live are fascinating…the priorotiy becoming each other…company…versus materialism…

That’s a thought – but actually living in terror somehow doesn’t seem as attractive to me as living with a schedule in our increasingly screwed up world as it is. But I do love these kinds of movies because they can be lived out on a fantasy level, thus relieving some of the pressures of our 21st Century scramble. I think we can do a lot to simplify our lives now – that is a challenge!

michael May 19th, 2008
11:06 pm

What about living in terror AND having to keep a schedule?

You’re definitely right though, I think we often overcomplicate things, thus creating our own problems. It’s hard to break that, which is why we have zombies to do it for us…

personally, i think a zombie attack would be awesome. terrifying, but awesome. i fantasize about them. i like to plan my zombie escape plan whenever i go some place new- where’s the nearest hardware store, who do i know that has guns, where would be a good place to hide and snipe them, etc. cause, you know, its always a possibility.
p.s. didn’t see Cloverfield, but i really liked the promo website with all the snapshots.

Jessica June 2nd, 2008
6:23 pm

I believe it was George Carlin who heavily emphasized the excitement involved in tragedy. We as people thrive off of things like car accidents, natural disasters, and the overall feeling of welcoming that comes with joining a group of people who share the same “Oh shit” feeling.